Boat having a buoyant propeller



Oct. l0, 1950 J. o. sMlTH, J5; 2,524,938

BoA'r HAVING A BUQYANT PROPELLER INVENTOR. //N O. LSM/ TH jf?.

A Trae/V575 J. o. SMITH, JR

BOAT HAVING A BUOYANT PROPELLER Oct. 10, 1950 Filed June 22, V1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 vif' INVENTOR.

By Q ou farro/@Nens 0ct. 10, 1950 J. o. SMITH, .JRl 2,524,933

BOAT HAVING A BUOYANT PROPELLER Filed June 22, 1946 5 Sheecs-Sheet 3 Patented oct. 1o, 195o UNITED STATES rArsNr ortica 2,524,938' BOAT HAVING A BUOYANT raoPnLLER Johno. smith, Jr., North Plainfield, N. J. Application rune 22, 1946, serial No. 678,644

o f 1 v This invention relates to boats, such as speed boats and more particularly to means associated therewith for reducing the friction created between the bottom or keel of the boat and the water as the former cuts through the water. g

One object of the invention is to provide rotatable buoyant means which will translate or transform the waterresisting action into rotary motion to enhance the progress of the boat through the water by the elimination to a great extent of friction upon the keel and prow of the boat.

Another object of the invention is t-o provide at the prow and stern of the boat buoyant paddle wheels, rotatably mounted for transforming or converting the friction engendered by the water resistance into rotary movement.

A further object is to form the buoyant paddle wheel at the stern of the boat with propulsion aiding ns, the said wheel' in addition to being rotated by the resistance of the water may be positively driven from the boat engine.

A still further object of the invention isto provide compartments fore and 'aft of. theboat in which the buoyant paddle wheelsY are suitably mounted so that the horizontal axis of .the same is atall times above the water level, or so mounted that the speed of the vboat will raise thehorizontal aXis of thesame abovejthe water level. Another object is to produce a device of the character described in which the maximum simplicity of construction and operation is secured. v

Other objects and advantages iwill appear as the nature of theY improvementslis. better understood, the inventionA 'consisting substantially in the novel arrangementv and corelation of parts herein fullydescribed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters are used to. describe corresponding parts throughout the several views, and then nally pointed out and specifically defined and indicated in the appended claims.

The disclosure made the basis of exemplifying the present inventive concept suggests a practical embodiment thereof, but the invention is not to be restricted to the exact details of this disclosure, and the latter, therefore, is to be understood from an illustrative, rather than a restrictive standpoint. v

In carrying out apreferred form of the invention, it was found advantageous to provide a centrally located chamber in the stern of the boat, the said chamber being closed at the top but open at the bottom and sides and rotatably supports a buoyant paddle wheel therein, the said paddle.v

2 Claims. (Cl. 115`-19) wheel being positively driven if and when desirable from the boat engine by means of a sprocket and chain drive. It was also found desirable to similarly mount a pair of buoyant paddle wheels atV the prow of theboat, the said latter wheels, however, while similar to the buoyant paddle wheel in the stern are not connected to any positive drive, nor are they provided with agitators or propulsion aiding blades as in the manner of the stern wheel.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a boat provided with the buoyant anti-friction device ofthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the aft or stern buoyant paddle wheel;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof; Y

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the fore wheels, and

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of a boat showing a modified form of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral II] indicates a speed boat, the hull II of which is provided at its rear end or stern I2 with a chamber I3 open at the bottom I4 and having transverse water-tight bulkheads I5. The starboard and port sides of the chamber may be open as at I6 and Ilia, and a top I1 may join the bulkheads I5. Suspended from suitable springs I8 is the'ste'rnbuoyant paddle wheel I9. The said wheel is best shown inFigures 3 and 4 and comprises a central disk 2l] to the opposite surfaces of which there is welded hollow frusto-conical shells 2| which taper outwardly from said central disk or base 20. Each of the saidV conical shells has secured thereto nsor blades 22 extending partway of the length of said shells, the said'blades kbeing preferably welded to the shells and disk. The shells vand disk are preferably mounted on and se- A cured to a substantially heavy aluminum tube 23 which projects outwardly of said shells and carries a disk 211 at one end and a disk 25 at its opposite end. Each end of the tube 23 carries a ball bearing 2e in which is journalled a tubular shaft 2l the ends of which are supported in the springs I8. The tube 23 has secured thereto near the disk 2li a sprocket wheel 28 which is driven from any suitable source, as, for instance, the engine 23 by means of a sprocket chain 30.

A chamber 3l similar in all respects to the chamber I3 is provided at or near the fore or prow of the boat. Hollow compound conical wheels 32 similar in all :respects to the stern buoyant 3 paddle wheel i9, with the exception that they are minus sprocket wheel and fins, are mounted in the said compartments 3l and suspended from springs l8a.

While the stern buoyant paddle wheel I9 and fore buoyant paddle wheels 32 have been shown and described as being of compound frusto-conical shape, it is to be understood that they may be made of different shapes, the important features being that they are of a greater diameter at the center than at the ends and that the diameter of the disk is greater than the altitude of the frustums.

In operation, as the boat is propelled in the Water by the stern buoyant paddle wheel I9, the action of the water thereon will be such as to aid in its rotation, and thus the ultimate speed of the boat will be greater than it would be Without the use of such buoyant paddle wheel.

The size and buoyancy of the wheel maintains the horizontal axis thereof above the water level thus maintaining the prow of the boat high in the water and reduces the friction therebetween and the hull of the boat.

It is to be understood that the wheel may be positively driven as shown and described, or it may be disconnected from the engine if desired, and receive its rotation from contact with the water. Likewise it is to be understood that the number and exact position of the wheels may vary with the size and type of boat with which they are used.

In Figure 6 there is shown a modied form of the invention wherein the wheels 32a instead of being mounted ina chamber underneath the boat are mounted exteriorly of the boat said boat being minus the said chambers.

Normally when at rest the boat is supported by the hull Ila, however when the boat is moving at high speed then it is mainly supported by the wheels 32a.

The important feature of the invention resides in the fact that the wheels are but slightly immersed in the water and keep the boat up high, in fact when the boat travels fast the wheels ride the waves as they would ride on solid ground, thus keeping the keel out of the water entirely and reducing the -water friction to a minimum,

It is apparent that the illustrations shown above have beeny given solely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that the above examples are subject to Wide variations and modifications within the-scope of the present invention. All such variations and modifications are to.be included within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a boathaving a chamber formed in the bottom thereof and extending to the sides of the'boat and open at the bottom; a'buoyant paddle wheel, spring means, said wheel being rotatably supported in the chamber by said spring means transversely of the boat, the wheel projecting downwardly through the opening and comprising a tube, a disk secured to the tube intermediate the ends thereof, a pair of frustoconical shells secured at their bases to opposite sides of the disk and at their opposite ends to the tube, and radially directed and spaced fins disposed on the outer surface of each shell, the ns extending from the base of each shell toward the opposite end thereof.

2. In a boat having a fore chamber and a separate aft chamber, said chambers being formed in the bottom of the boat and to the sides of the boat extending upwardly and being open at the bottom; a buoyant paddle wheel, spring means, said Wheel being rotatably supported inV theaft chamber by said spring means transversely of the boat, the center of the Wheel being substantially in the longitudinal center plane of the boat, the wheel comprising a tube, a disk secured to the tube intermediate the ends thereof, a pair of frusto-conical shells secured at their bases to opposite sides of the disk and at their opposite ends to the tube, and aligned and radially directed fins disposed on the shells on either side of the disk and terminating intermediate the base and opposite end of each shell, and means imparting rotary motion to the tube, a second and a third `buoyant paddle wheel in the fore chamber, spring means rotatably supporting said second wheel and said third wheel in said fore chamber, said second and third wheels being aligned transversely of the boat and equally spaced on either side of the longitudinal center line thereof; al1 of the wheels extending downwardly in the openings, the diameter of the disk of each wheel being greater than the diameter of the bases of the shells thereof.

JOHN O. SMITH, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 537,921 Fernandez Apr. 23, 1895 907,073 May Dec. 15, 1909 956,487 Fauber Apr. 26, 1910 992,775 Howell May 23, 1911 1,104,229 Szegel July 21, 1914 1,110,156 Stewart Sept. 8, 1914 1,302,951 Nase May 6, 1919 1,840,725 Lake Jan. 12, 1982 2,318,789 Lombardini May 11, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Numberl Country Date 3,020 Great Britain Feb. 11, 1908 293,302 Italy Feb. 17, 1932 

